Hatcher Twirls to the Top

Laughter filled the auditorium and smiles lit up the faces of audience members as senior boys pranced across the stage in their best outfits, eagerly representing their clubs and their countries.

Project graduation hosted the return of the Miss Earth pageant in the auditorium on Monday night.

“I’m glad that I could make people in the audience laugh with my talent and my dress mishap,” contestant Parker Eidson said. “I’m also proud of winning Best Evening wear because I know I looked good out there.”

Each of the eight Contestants in the pageant were sponsored by a club and represented the country of their choice. Rodrick Larkin represented the Art Club as “Rodricka” from Barbados, Jack Ezell represented Beta Club as “Margarine” from Denmark, Preston Long represented the Drama Club as “Athena” from Mexico, Ty Bachtel represented Eagle Publications as “Tali Bellet “ from France, Parker Eidson represented FCCLA as “Aphrodite” from Greece, Garrett Mensch represented FCA as “Bethany Maple” from Canada, Jashaughn Hatcher represented band as “Jamesha” from the USA, and Josh Arrington represented the class of 2019 as “Ting Tong” from Japan.

“While I was in it to win it for my country and my fans, I was very pleased with my placement after seeing the competition, eh,” Mensch said.

For the talent part of the competition, the contestants showed off a wide range of talents. Jack and Preston performed a duet to the Spongebob song “Without You” while a PowerPoint paying tribute to Mr. Wade played in the background. Ty painted a picture, and Parker hula hooped while catching grapes in his mouths. Jashaughn performed a twirling routine to “Party in the USA,” and as a finale, the FHS twirlers joined him on stage. Garrett and Josh executed a moving rendition of “I Want it that Way,” and Rodrick ended the talent portion with a song and dance routine to Rihanna’s “Desperado.”

“I was proud to represent Barbados and my favorite artist,” Larkin said. “Rihanna would be so proud of me if she knew who I was.”

Rodrick won both Best Country Costume and Best Talent, and Parker won Best Evening Wear. Ty was the First Runner Up, and Jashaughn won the title of Miss Earth.

“I feel so honored to have won the pageant, especially after all the work I put into my talent,” Hatcher said. “Learning to twirl was difficult, but I’m glad my practice paid off and I could show everyone what I can do.”

Joining the contestants on stage, Coaches John Bachtel and Kevin Childers acted as the MCs for the event, announcing the “ladies” and asking them questions in the Q&A portion.

Celebrity judges “Adam Levine,” Miss Freestone County Emi Bonner, and “Vanilla Ice” judged the pageant.

“I had a lot of fun judging, and I feel like the contestants had fun too,” Bonner said. “I’m glad this tradition was brought back because it was a fresh take on fundraising.”

The Miss Earth pageant was one of several fundraisers implemented this year by project grad leader Linda Measles. This was the first Miss Earth pageant in over ten years, and the first one that Mr. Wade attended.

“I only came because Jack told me to, but [their tribute] didn’t really bother me,” principal Von Wade said. “They took a boring subject and made it interesting.”